'Your Square Mile' will encourage local volunteering and community events, the scheme that aims to encourage the UK’s citizens to work together with their neighbours, local civil society organisations (CSOs) and local authorities to build social capital within their localities.
The Big Society Network’s founder, Paul Twivvy, defines the area that schemes will cover as “In rural areas this might be a large village or a collection of hamlets; in urban areas it will be a couple of wards,” he said, "or as far as you can walk in 15 minutes from your home."
16 of the UK’s 'most challenging rural and urban communities' are set to pilot the scheme over the next six months. Asda has been announced as the main sponsor of Your Square Mile.
The Magdalen Estate in Gorleston is one of the sixteen communities in the UK that will be piloting the initiative.
The Big Society Network would “systematically provide a framework for the communities to organise themselves as citizens, to work with local authorities and civil society organisations to make change. We will show them it is so much more reachable than they imagined.”
Having attending a consultation meeting at the Ormiston Centre in Magdalen on Wednesday evening, which was attended by approximately 40 – 50 locally invited residents, I was very surprised to see that the Magdalen Community Association was not present at this meeting, and later found out that they were not invited. This was a big shame as this association has contributed lots to the Magdalen area. This makes me wonder if this meeting was only for the selected few, I was only able to attend by inviting myself after finding out 3rd hand about the meeting. Maybe if lots more people had been involved then it may have been a bit more representative.
At the consultation we were sat at tables in groups of about 8, we held group discussions about for and against issues they had about the Magdalen area, and what living in the neighbourhood was like and how they felt affected. The groups were then asked for ideas as to what they felt would make a difference and put forward an idea of a project they would like to get involved in, which ranged from putting on Street cleaning events, targeting parking issues, providing a Community centre from Peterhouse 1st School, awards for clean gardens and streets, flower baskets, building a youth accommodation block using local people with new trade skills.
The Big Society will return in 4 weeks to meet with 4 volunteers who wanted to be further involved in the project, and will be given training, support and finance to get one of the projects turned into reality.
If you live or work in the Magdalen we would like to know how you feel about this project and wether you wish you could have contributed to it or if you attended the meeting give your feedback of what you would like to see done in the Magdalen area; via contact@96ktalkback.co.uk or call 01493 600106
Wendy Williams
Community Reporter
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Mark Llewellyn
Mike Collins